Keeping up with the "K"lubines: Dear Evan

Dear Evan,
Just like most parents, I find myself wondering where time has gone. It seems like yesterday that you were born and entered our lives. And as much as I would like it to, time does not stand still. You are most definitely not a baby anymore, but you will always be one of my babies. You are a strong, independent, outgoing, fearless, adventurous and loving little boy. We love to watch you grow into YOU each and every day.
When I think back on the day you were born and the joy that overcame us followed by so much fear, I get very emotional, but also so very happy and proud. You have been a fighter from day one and I think it shows in your strong personality.
Your birthday was three days ago and today 4 years ago was the day you were airlifted to Little Rock. I will never forget those days and the pain I felt and I am so happy that I can look at you today and feel love and joy. Of course we have our challenging moments every day, you are 4 and strong willed, but I do remind myself many times just how lucky we are to have you. Enough of the emotional stuff, lets move on to the things that make you YOU.
You are a fantastic middle brother :). I know being a middle child is not always easy, but I believe you have made it the perfect spot for you in our family. You love your big sister and look up to her. You two fight quite a bit, but at the end of the day you would do anything for her. You are usually the one that comes up with compromises or gives in to make her happy (she would probably tell you that you always get your way, but from an outside perspective I can tell you that you are very fair and try to make things work). You always say "It's ok Hannah we can do that instead".
You adore your little sister and are a great protector for her. You watch out for her and are her best buddy. You two get along really well and don't fight much. You play well together and get into trouble well together too. You are two peas in a pod.
You love to be a helper around the house. You love to learn how everything works, you love tools and fixing things. You love firetrucks, fireworks , santa blowers (that's what you call those christmas inflatables) and the color pink. You love to help me cook and bake. You are in the kitchen with me every night and you would bake muffins every day if you could (you will only eat one when they are right out of the oven and then you won't eat them again, so we have a freezer full of zucchini muffins). We are considering signing you up for a cooking class. I think you would love it and I know your Opa would be so happy to see you learn how to cook. You also love to play with other kids and are very social. You will go up to any kid big or small at the playground and ask them if they want to play with you and you don't get discouraged or sad if they say no.
You love to play games. We have played countless rounds of memory, Pop the Pig, Old Maid, Go Fish and various other games. You also love to do puzzles. You have a lot of patience for games and are a quick learner. Your favorite show on TV is still Paw Patrol.
You are a very funny kid. You always tell us "how hard is it?" when we are playing a game or looking for something ect and you don't know that you sound kind of rude when you say this, so it makes it funny to us. Last week you were concerned that your clothes won't fit you anymore when you wake up on your 4th birthday. When you are in trouble or don't want to answer a question you just say "I love you". You tell us a lot that you love us and you always want to snuggle at bedtime (you don't have much time for snuggles during the day though).
Evan, there are no words to explain how much I love you. You made me a mom for the second time. I am a better person and I have you to thank for that. I am proud of the person you are and the one you are becoming. Parenting is hard and I always worry about doing things right for you and your sisters. Just know that I am always doing my best, just like we ask you to do.
We love you to McDonald's and the ice cream shop and back (apparently in your eyes that would be much better than to the moon and back, because this is what you have told us before).

Your birthday table

The birthday boy

This is still the face we get when we ask you to smile for a picture

Of course the sisters wanted in on the picture

You got a new santa blower for your birthday and we had to try it out right away. This nutcracker is 16ft tall. You will be able to see this from the town square next Christmas. Evan was an excited little boy.